Does technology make a difference in the learning process or could you teach just as well without it?
  • Are students today fundamentally different than students in the past?
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My name is Joshua Wallace and I'm 24 years old. I am originally from Lowell Massachusetts, which is just outside of Boston. I moved to Cincinnati when I was younger and attended highschool at Colerain. I still go back and visit home at least once a year. Shortly after high school I joined the U.S Navy and entered the reserves in 2006. After bootcamp and "a" school I found myself back in Cincinnat where I continue to drill in Norwood. I expect to finish my initial 6 year contract at the end of this year. I am currently debating about whether or not I will sign another contract. Aside from my Navy experience, I have had several jobs such as Landscaping and retail. Although I did not enter college directly after high school, I finally came to the realization that it was necessary. At about my 4 year mark in the Navy, I started college and am now a Junior in my second quarter at UC. I am studying early education at the moment, but later down the road I may look into secondary education.
I want to be a teacher because I feel that I have the right personality for the job. In addition, I have come across several teachers that were not meant to teach. On a lighter note, there have been several teachers that are responsible for inspiring me to become a teacher. If I'm lucky, I will eventually be responsible for inspiring students to succeed throughout my career.

1. I think that technology makes a huge difference because of its overall convience. For example: when I was doing my observations at hughes HS, students were asked to begin their research for an upcoming project. Instead of heading to the library and searching for a book to assist them, students were able to open a lap top and start researching right away. In addition, this research was virtually limitless, whereas researching in a traditional library can be filled with dead ends.
2. Students today are fundementally different because of the environment that surrounds them. Students in the past were limited to what they knew at the time and the books that they possesed. Students today have the internet, which acts as somewhat of an extention of the brain.

http://www.nucleuslearning.com/content/students-now-and-then

http://techland.time.com/2012/02/22/new-study-finds-ipads-in-the-classroom-boost-test-scores/ http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/fromme/

Explain- Read and take notes on your assigned article. You will find the articles in BlackBoard under "Course Documents."
Digital Natives notes
Digital natives are also known as the "net generation"
this generation was thought to be born sometime between 1988 and 1994
Howe and Strauss- claim that this generation will become the next "great generation"
Digitial natives learn differently than traditional learners
One of the major claims being made these days is that schools are no longer designed for the hightened abilities of digital natives
most of the common arguments made about digital natives are assumptions
One main assumption is that there is, in fact, a distinct generation of DN
another main assumption is that education needs to fundementally change in order to meet the needs of these DN
Again, most arguments are based on common sense, rather than actual evidence
claims have been made that DN are better multitaskers
this is supported by common sense
Psychological research reveals that multitasking may not be that beneficial anyway.
watching t.v while doing homework might mean that home work will not be as quality, even if it is more efficient.
It is hard to generalize one type of learning preference to a generation of students
In many cases, individual students use different learning methods in order to adapt to different learning environments
One argument is that, even if Digitial Natives are tech savvy, that doesn't necessarily mean they will translate it to quality school work


Elaborate- 1) Visit the discussion on the article that you read (see the comment bubbles on the top right of this page). Develop a list of 5-6 points made in your paper. Post your list and respond to at least two others' lists (of those that read the same article as you). 2) Visit the discussion of the opposing view point (Clark and Kozma are opposites and Digital Natives and Natives Response are opposites) and respond to one person telling whether you agree or disagree using evidence from your article to make your point. 3) Visit the discussion boards of the other argument (for example, if you read Clark or Kozma, now visit the Digital Natives and Digital Response). After reading through both discussions, decide who you agree with and post a comment to that discussion board explaining why you agree with them. Use evidence to support your reasoning.
Evaluate- After participating in the discussion boards, return to your ePortfolio page and write a paragraph reflection either supporting or revising your original responses to the questions you answered in the "Engage" portion of this activity based on what you learned from the reading and the other groups.

Assignment 2
Constructivist v. Behaviorist
Constructivism-
-Students learn how to learn
- based on observaiton and scientific study
-self assesment
-encourages students to draw fresh conclusions from their own experiments and findings
-Students are actively involved with the learning process
- Teacher facilitates the learning instead of teaching at the student
-knowledge is learned to memorize
-knowledge is learned to change the way one percieves the world
-Emphasis on the student, rather than the teacher
-Interactive learning takes place, rather than a class filled with lecture
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html

Behaviorism-
-Knowlege is learned to memorise
-More emphasis on the teacher, rather than the student
-Learner is expected to understand what the teacher says
-Teachers are responsible for asking questions
-Students are expected to answer questions correctly
-If a question is answered correctly than the students is rewarded for having memorized the material
-Teachers literally observe students to gain insight on whether or not knowledge is being retained
http://classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/models_theories.htm

video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxufdpcfpJY
Watching this first video was somewhat enlightening because, I was unable to have a lot of teacher like this growing up. This teacher definitely takes an unorthodox approach to teaching geometry. Instead of standing in front of the class room and talking about angles and measurements, the teacher is walking around and having conversations about the project that is applicable to the real world. This teacher is obviously interested in having the students find their own answers and apply them to something that is real. This constructionist approach to geometry seems to have the students much more engaged.

video 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-S54bbX6eA
I thoroughly enjoyed this video clip for a couple reasons. The main reason is that I immediately remembered several teachers in grade school that taught exactly like this. Everyone new about these teachers, and no one understood anything that was being taught. Right away I seen evident characteristics of behaviorism. The teacher was talking at the students hoping that they would magically memorize the information hidden in the lecture. Secondly, I noticed the teacher constantly trying to ask the students question to see if they were comprehending the information. The students seem to be much more engaged in the first video. As a result, they seem to be learning and retaining more.

I believe that I have had both types of teachers at one point or another throughout my educational career. As I explained before, everyone was always worried about attending the class with the behaviorist teacher. I remember specific projects and lessons in a lot of my classes, but in this particular one, I can not recall one thing that I learned. Instead, I used my short term memory to survive the class. no less than a summer break later I had already frogotten what I was taught. Through my experience, I have always preferred a constructionist teacher.